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American Morning
Race to the Finish: Candidates Collide in Key Battleground States; Obama Delivers His Closing Argument; Economy Squeezing Retailers; Sen. Ted Stevens Guilty on Corruption Charges; Candidates Fight for Pennsylvania
Aired October 28, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up now to the top of the hour. And breaking this morning, a worldwide rebound for stocks. Dow futures pointing to a big opening, up 300 points after recession jitters drove the Dow down more than 200 points yesterday. Japan's Nikkei was up more than 6 percent. Hong Kong closing up more than 14 percent. And in Europe, most markets are trading today in positive territory.
Right now, the Secret Service is investigating an alleged plot by white supremacists to assassinate Barack Obama. Federal prosecutors charge the two men with plotting "a gruesome killing spree against more than 100 African-Americans."
Authorities say that they wanted to cap it off with an attempt to kill the presidential candidate all while they wore white tuxedos. But law enforcement sources say there is no evidence that they could have actually pulled the operation off.
Chicago officials will perform an autopsy today to determine how long the nephew of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson has been dead. The body of 7-year-old Julian King was found in a white SUV yesterday in a Chicago neighborhood. He had been shot to death. Hudson's mother and brother were found shot dead on Friday.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, exactly one week until America picks a president, there is still a lot of minds that could be changed and a lot of votes that could go the other way. And as Barack Obama gets his so-called closing argument, John McCain is in a hurry to make up ground saying we can't afford a government controlled by Democrats. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're a few points down. The pundits -- the pundits have written us off as they have several times before. My opponent is working out the details with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid of their plans to raise your taxes, raise your taxes, increase spending and concede defeat in Iraq. He's measuring the drapes, and he's planned his first address to the nation before the election.
You know, I guess I'm -- I guess I'm -- I guess I'm old-fashioned about these things. I prefer to let the voters weigh in before --
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush, and 21 months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California and every where in between, we are one week away from changing America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And both candidates start their day here. Battleground Pennsylvania, 21 electoral votes at stake. The latest CNN poll of polls shows John McCain trailing Barack Obama by 10 points.
Suzanne Malveaux is live for us this morning with the Obama campaign in Chester, Pennsylvania. And, Suzanne, Obama's got a double-digit lead there. Why is he still campaigning in that state that's gone blue in 2000 and blue in 2004?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, there's still a lot of die-hard supporters who are out here waiting in the rain, Kiran. This is going to be an outdoor event that's taking place. But you may recall last week, it was the governor -- Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania who said come back, come back here, essentially, do not take this for granted. Obviously, he says that McCain and Palin have camped out in this state, that this is very competitive. So essentially, he's taking nothing for granted.
So what is he doing? He's presenting what he's called a closing argument.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): In the final week of the campaign, the closer.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The change we need isn't just about new programs and policies. It's about a new attitude. It's about new politics. A politics that calls on our better angels instead of encouraging our worst instincts.
MALVEAUX: His simple message, a call for change has been the consistent thread weaving all things together.
OBAMA: Fired up!
AUDIENCE: Fired up!
OBAMA: Ready to go!
AUDIENCE: Ready to go!
OBAMA: Fired up!
AUDIENCE: Fired up!
MALVEAUX: That's months ago. This is now. Obama's battle cry of yes we can is now more specific. It's vote for me and in one week you can fill in the blank.
OBAMA: In one week, we can choose hope over fear and unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo. In one week, we can come together as one nation.
MALVEAUX: Obama's appeal to many new voters, especially the young and disenfranchised, has been the idea that this is not just a campaign but a movement.
OBAMA: That's what's been lost this last eight years, our common sense of purpose, a sense of higher purpose. That's what we need to restore right now. That's one of the reasons I'm running for president of the United States of America.
MALVEAUX: Obama's purpose has also been to consistently link John McCain to President Bush and his failed policies. Most recently regarding the economy.
OBAMA: We have tried it John McCain's way. We have tried it George Bush's way. And deep down, deep down Senator McCain knows that, which is why his campaign said that if we keep talking about the economy we're going to lose.
MALVEAUX: It's a formula that's seems to be working, delivered in Ohio, the one state McCain needs to win the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: It's also a state that has one of the highest unemployment rates second only to Michigan. So voters there obviously paying very close attention to Barack Obama's economic plan along with this kind of broader vision.
And, Kiran, he's here in Pennsylvania to try to simply shore up the support that he has here. He's not going to stay long. It's a 10:00 rally. The weather is pretty bad out here. It's outdoors. We anticipate it's going to be pretty quick before he moves on back to Virginia -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Suzanne Malveaux for us in Chester this morning. Thanks.
ROBERTS: So let's bring it over to the magic wall this morning. And we're highlighting Pennsylvania today and you might wonder why when our latest poll of poll numbers show Barack Obama leading John McCain 51 percent to 41 percent. Why he spends so much time here in the Keystone State? We'll tell you in just a second.
But first of all, let's show you some of John McCain out in the trail in an attempt to try to pull back Pennsylvania from the Obama column.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama is running to be redistributionist in chief, I'm running to be commander in chief. Senator Obama is running to spread the wealth, I'm running to create more wealth. Senator Obama --
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Senator Obama is running to push, punish the successful. I'm running to make everyone successful!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So that's the message that he's aiming at working class voters who really populates a tremendous amount of Pennsylvania. Let's take a quick look at presidential travel today.
John McCain is going to be in Chester, just in Hershey rather, just outside of Harrisburg. Barack Obama will be in Chester just outside of Philadelphia, right there along the Amtrak corridor. I take the train through there twice a week. And Sarah Palin is going to be here in Centre County. This is a county that President Bush won by four points over John Kerry in 2004 and you say, well, it's solidly Republican, it's a big swatch of red there, why is that so important?
That's because that's where Penn State University is. And if we go back to the primaries earlier this year, you'll notice a big patch of dark blue because Barack Obama, when he we went up against Hillary Clinton, won that by 20 points over her, 60 to 40 percent. So Sarah Palin there in Centre County even though when you take a look at the map here, it's a large swath of red, a little bit of blue in the middle there, where Barack Obama could make the difference.
Here's why else John McCain is spending so much time in Pennsylvania. Here in this area in the southeast that's heavily Democratic territory, John Kerry killed President Bush there like 80 to 19 percent. But a new survey, "USA" poll which breaks this down into regional results, shows that in this area in the northeast and this area in the southwest, the numbers are within the margin of error, that Barack Obama only has a three-point lead in those areas. So John McCain will be concentrating very heavily on those areas of the northeast around Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the southwest here around Pittsburgh, Greene and Cambria Counties trying to build up those numbers a little bit.
They're 41 percent of the electorate in Pennsylvania here in the Philadelphia area but between these two areas, 31 percent of the electorate. So there's a lot of votes to be had there, Kiran. John McCain wants to get those, and he wants them badly.
CHETRY: Absolutely. All right. John, thanks.
Well, could a 40-year career end after seven guilty verdicts? The latest on the conviction against Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska and his difficult reelection bid.
Michelle Obama trade some laughs with Jay Leno bragging about where she shops and taking a shot at Sarah Palin in the process.
It's eight minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Ten and a half minutes after the hour. Christine Romans here "Minding Your Business" with the changing face of shopping these days. CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know --
ROBERTS: Not that anybody can afford to do it.
ROMANS: Well, and that's exactly what's the problem here. You've got people who are pulling in. This is the big, you know, indicator of the economy's health, right? I mean, our spending drives two-thirds of the economy, and that the face of your mall is changing every day.
Starbucks closing 600 stores. Linens and things going out of business. Mervyns going out of business. Those two are liquidating.
Even Wal-Mart, recession proof, right? Announcing it's going to be opening fewer new stores. So utter upheaval at the shopping mall in your neighborhood.
Now what does this mean? It means that there are going to be bigger discounts, bigger sales, bigger promotions throughout the holiday shopping season as they try to get you in there to spend your money in these tough times.
A survey released yesterday, a chief marketing officer of retailers said that 88 percent of them expect to give big promotions and discounts to get you in, and 65 percent of them said they don't expect a meaningful rebound until sometime maybe third quarter of 2009. So that means sales for you probably well into next year if you can afford it, right?
So the good news is the sales, but the bad news is they're also cutting jobs. And as those stores close, those are going to be lost jobs in your neighborhood as well. So more discounts but fewer jobs at the shopping mall.
ROBERTS: More discounts, fewer jobs.
ROMANS: That's right.
ROBERTS: All right. So you have to do a lot of shopping by yourself if you can afford it. But you're going to go burn it.
ROMANS: Well, we keep saying, you know, be careful. This is the time to be careful with your spending, and that's what you're seeing at the malls. That's what's -- that's exactly what's happening there. You're seeing a lot of changes at the mall.
ROBERTS: Christine, thanks for that.
CHETRY: Well, are your getting sick of getting those tiny bottles of shampoo and mouthwash and having to take those on your carry-on luggage? Well, then, we got good news for you.
Still ahead, also, they're fighting for our country but their votes may not count. Why troops may have their ballots thrown out. We're looking into this story.
Twelve minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: A little Sinatra this morning. How about it? Beautiful shot this morning from WLS of Chicago, Illinois. It's chilly, though, 36 degrees, fair. Little bit later the sun, the wind, and a high of 44 degrees in the Windy City.
Rob Marciano tracking it all for us from Atlanta. No one is going swimming in Lake Michigan today.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No. No. You know you hear that music, it's still night. I feel like I should be, you know, smoking a cigarette and with a tumbler of scotch, given the weather, you know.
CHETRY: Just like good old Frank.
MARCIANO: Exactly. How about that? You might need that in the northeast today. I mean, I can think of many words and one of them that comes to mind is just disgusting.
Temperatures will be in the lower 40s at best. Some upper 30s. Rain, wind, some wet snow mixing in, just in the outskirts of New York City. You got a low pretty much right over Trenton heading off the Jersey Shore. Winds are going to start to crank with this, and we're starting to see some snow. And some of this snow is going to be heavy at times.
Check out some of these temperatures. Even some lightning strikes being detected just offshore south of Long Island and all this heavy rain is rotating into Manhattan, into the Bronx, in through Westchester, Fairfield and Putnam Counties. Temperatures there, as you can see, hovering mostly below 40 or below 50, and in some cases below 40 and temperatures cold enough for snow. In Upstate New York, eight to 16 inches potentially in the Adirondacks. So do what you can to stay warm up there, Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes. Very rare for this time of year.
MARCIANO: It is.
CHETRY: Aw, almost a foot possibly.
All right. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet.
CHETRY: It is 16 minutes after the hour.
ROBERTS: Fighting on the battlefield but losing at the ballot box.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's disenfranchising our military and frankly I think it's very unpatriotic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The efforts to make sure the absentee ballots of men and women on the front lines are counted.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a sad day for Alaska and a sad day for Senator Stevens and for his family. The verdict shines a light though on the corrupting influence of the big oil service company up there in Alaska that was allowed to control too much of our state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin commenting on the verdict against Ted Stevens, the Senate's longest serving Republican. Stevens was found guilty on seven counts of lying to conceal gifts that he had received.
He's firing back though saying, "I will fight this unjust verdict with every ounce of energy I have. I am innocent. The verdict is a result of the unconscionable manner in which the Justice Department lawyers conducted this trial. I remain a candidate for the United States Senate."
CNN's Joe Johns takes a look at the verdicts and where Stevens stands now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An epic career in the Senate reduced to this -- guilty on seven counts of lying about gifts from friends back home, including one friend, an oil field services company executive, who specialized in bribing politicians and getting political favors. But the fall of Ted Stevens wasn't about some Wall Street-sized payoff. This was mostly about small things, which he claimed were either loaned property or unwanted contraband, like a decorative metal fish, a fancy outdoor barbecue grill, a massage chair from Brookstone.
The one big ticket in the quarter million dollar controversy, home renovations. Workers for that oil field services company jacked up Stevens' single-story A-frame home in Alaska and transformed it into a multi-story chalet, though Stevens insisted he paid for the work.
SEN. TED STEVENS (R), ALASKA: I will tell you we paid every bill that was given to us. Every bill that was presented to us has been paid.
JOHNS: You can't say Stevens didn't see trouble coming. Audio taped played during the trial showed he knew what could happen if he were ever discovered.
VOICE OF STEVENS: Might lose and we might have to pay a fine, might have to serve a little time in jail.
JOHNS: Stevens was always unapologetic, if not proud of his legendary success of pumping federal money to Alaska. The last four years alone, he pushed for a $3.2 billion in earmarks for the state. His success came from his seniority, 40 years in the Senate, more than six as chairman of the Appropriations Committee and from his legendary bullying tactics.
STEVENS: I'm going to go to every one of your states, and I'm going to tell them what you've done.
JOHNS: And yet despite his considerable successes, this wily veteran of the Senate seemed to throw it all away on a huge gamble. He asked for a speedy jury trial right before an election, and then he testified in his own defense, which allowed the prosecutor a chance to chew through his explanations, excuses and alibis. The jury did not buy it and did not give him a break.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Joe Johns reporting for us there.
Barack Obama is going to be all over your television tomorrow night at 8:00 buying a half an hour on several networks. But Michelle Obama told Jay Leno their eldest daughter wasn't a big fan of the idea at first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO")
MICHELLE OBAMA, BARACK OBAMA'S WIFE: And Malia sort of overhears and she's 10. She says, "You're going to be on all the TV?" She said, "Are you going to interrupt my TV?" And he says -- he's sitting like, he says, "No, we didn't buy time on Disney and Nick." And she said, "Oh, good." And she got up and walked away. That's about it.
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Now I want to ask you about your wardrobe. I'm guessing about 60 grand?
(LAUGHTER)
Sixty, 70,000 for that outfit?
OBAMA: Actually, this is a J. Crew ensemble.
LENO: Really? Wow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Jay Leno, of course, referring to the $150,000 that the RNC spent on clothes for vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
CHETRY: David Letterman also having some fun at Palin's expense of voting (ph) as top ten list to her wardrobe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": And the number one Sarah Palin excuse for spending $150,000 on clothes, the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull: lipstick, Prada shoes, a Gucci handbag and a few $3,000 suits.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Now Palin has said that the clothes will go to charity after the campaign, and that she'll go back to wearing her own clothes from out of the closet. It's a consignment shop she likes to shop at in Anchorage.
Second guessing Sarah Palin. Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. Find out why he thinks the race would be different if he had been picked for vice president.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-five minutes now after the hour. Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
Both presidential candidates campaigning in the key swing state of Pennsylvania today. The latest CNN poll of polls for Pennsylvania shows Barack Obama now with a 10-point lead there, 51 to 41. So is Pennsylvania a loss cause for John McCain?
Let's bring in the man who would join John McCain on the trail today, former governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Ridge. He joins me live from Hershey this morning.
Governor, it's good to see you. You know, a lot of Republican strategists can't quite figure out why John McCain is spending so much time and money there in Pennsylvania that he would be better because of the margins to take his money and spend it in closer states like Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Virginia. Why does he continue to campaign so heavily there?
TOM RIDGE (R), FORMER PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR: Well, I think, John, as you noticed, his campaign is heavily just about every where. But I think when you have 21 electoral votes that you think you can put in your column, it's actually if you think about it, John, a swing of 42, 21 that has traditionally been in the Democratic column and then they got a back fill.
So I think he sees and senses that we have enough independent thinking Democrats who want fiscal discipline in Washington, want reform in Washington, don't want an increase in taxes and a lot of values voters in Pennsylvania, a lot of Reagan Democrats here. And I think that's why it's so appealing to John and Governor Palin. That's why they spend so much time here. We believe we can win this state.
ROBERTS: Last Republican to win Pennsylvania was George H.W. Bush in 1988. If John McCain can win the Keystone State, where does he win? RIDGE: Well, I think following President Bush and then President Reagan, I said before, this is a heavily Democrat state. But clearly, there are a lot of independent thinking Democrats. Also, I would never have been elected governor of Pennsylvania.
And I think throughout the state, particularly the northeast and the southwest where there's heavy Democrat registration, I think that they're pro-military, they're pro gun. They're not bitter about things as Senator Obama has said. They've been going to church and enjoying the right to bear arms for a long time. And they're also a group of people who don't think that they're under taxed.
And so, when the message that seems to resonate and have traction here is that one candidate will raise taxes, one candidate will cut them. One candidate looks for activist judges to redistribute wealth as a matter of economic justice. The other candidate does not choose to look for activist judges. All these and other values as well as John's tested, tried record of reform and bipartisanship.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Governor, on this idea -- on this idea of activist judges to redistribute the wealth, it certainly hasn't been a part of his campaign pledge. There has been some audio where he talked about that some years ago.
Let me ask you this question though? Do you believe John McCain has to win Pennsylvania in order to win the White House?
RIDGE: I said that before and I stick by to my assertion of a couple of weeks ago. I think it's pretty clear that the chemistry of this election, some red states are now in play. Some blue states are in play. If nothing else, it's a back up. But yes, I do believe we need to prevail in Pennsylvania for John to win.
ROBERTS: All right. And if you were --
RIDGE: And I think we will.
ROBERTS: Yes. And if you were on the ticket, would you bring home Pennsylvania for John McCain? You know, you were on the short list there for a while.
RIDGE: Well, I said before, and only half the sentence was reported. I said the dynamics would clearly change if I had been on the ticket just as the dynamics in this state would have changed if Senator Obama had selected Governor Rendell. Whenever you choose an incumbent governor or someone who has served as governor, I think the dynamics change.
But to John's credit, he wasn't looking to prevail in one particular state. He was looking for someone to energize the base throughout the country. He made the right choice with Sarah Palin.
ROBERTS: Well, certainly, if you put Pennsylvania in the win column, it makes the ride to the White House a lot easier. Would he have been better off picking you?
RIDGE: Well, again, John is running a national campaign. I don't think there is any particular strategy that said we just have to win Pennsylvania. But as things have evolved over the past four to six weeks, it's pretty clear that we've become not only a battleground state but a pivotal state.
And again, I think John made an excellent choice. I've been with Governor Palin. I've seen her energize the crowds. I know how the Republican Party and the base feels about her. So again, John wasn't looking for a candidate to help in one state. He was looking for a candidate to help in all 50, and I think he found that running mate.
ROBERTS: Governor Tom Ridge, it's good to see you. Thanks for joining us this morning. Appreciate it.
RIDGE: Thanks, John. Good talking with you.
ROBERTS: All right.
RIDGE: Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, it's 29 minutes past the hour. A look at the top stories.
Classes will resume at the University of Central Arkansas just two days after two students were shot and killed on campus. Police say they detained three people in connection with the shootings. No one's yet been charged.
Hate crimes against gays are up six percent between 2006 and 2007. Those findings from an FBI report that shows overall the number of hate crimes is actually down one percent. Crimes based on race or against Muslims also both fell.
Well, if you like to skip baggage claim when flying you'll like this. Officials are looking to lift the ban on carrying liquids at the security check points sometime next year. Currently, as we know, we're limited to those three ounce bottles in a Ziploc bag. The change is coming because new x-ray technology can spot dangerous liquids.
And to "the most politics in the morning" now with only a week to go before election day both vice presidential candidates hit the campaign trail to encourage their supporters to hit the polls next Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So if you're ready to shake up Washington and clean up Wall Street and if you're ready to get our economy back on track and you want to win the war, then Virginia we're asking for your vote. Yes. On November 4th, it's going to come down to the wire and it's going to come down to what we believe in.
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This election is all about you and now it's up to you and your fellow Floridians. You've seen the debates. You heard the policy positions. And now it's time to choose. And with an early vote I mean now is the time to choose. Today, tomorrow. You got over two million Floridians already voted. People already standing in line. Ladies and gentlemen, we can't let it happen this time what happened last time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And it's not just Floridians worried about their votes not counting, technicalities are threatening to disqualify up to half the ballots of troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our Carol Costello joins me now from Washington with more on this. What's going on with the troops ballots?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, you know, Kiran, it's crazy. As one congressman told me you'd think we would have figured this out by now but no.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): They risk their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet their votes for America's president often does not count.
RODRIGUEZ: It's disheartening. OK. And these are the voters that are in some cases preserving our liberties and out there with their lives on the line.
COSTELLO: Rodriguez works for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, a non-partisan group. In the last general election, as best as she can determine, only about 30 percent of overseas military ballots were actually returned and counted.
LT. MELISSA COX BOSEE, U.S. NAVY (RETIRED): It's disenfranchising our military and frankly I think it's very unpatriotic.
COSTELLO: One reason why so many military votes are not counted, every state has its own rules for absentee voting and they can change in the middle of an election cycle. For example, in Virginia, a federal write in ballot required a witness's signature and address. But for soldiers overseas that proved confusing because there is no box provided for a witness's address.
ROKEY SULEMAN, FAIRFAX COUNTY VA. REGISTRAR: This is the form.
COSTELLO: Rokey Suleman, the Fairfax County Virginia registrar initially said he would have to discard 63 votes because voters neglected to list a witness address.
SULEMAN: These ballots that aren't being met I can't accept as ballots at this point. If the law changes, I welcome the review of the law. I think this law is horrible.
COSTELLO: Late Monday, Virginia's attorney general agreed saying all county registrars can now ignore that part of the law. A bigger problem, the U.S. mail. It may be able to deliver your mail through rain, sleet and snow, but not a battlefield. Congressman Kevin McCarthy said absentee ballots mailed from war zones are not getting to county registrars fast enough to be legally counted.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R), CALIFORNIA: With the modernization we have we should be able to move the ballots, track them at the same time, bring the modernization of the technology that we have today to make sure our heroes across this world get treated fairly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Congressman McCarthy of California said he's pushing a bill through Congress that will address those issues but it will be too late for election 2008. He suspects more than half of our troops voting absentee will be voting in vain. Kiran.
CHETRY: That's unbelievable. All right. Carol, thanks. If you see any voting irregularities, by the way, we want to know about it. From now until election day, 1-877-462-cnn08, 877-462-6608 to report any foul ups.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: Well, to this morning's political ticker now. it's either a major scoop or a repeat of Dewey beats Truman. That headline 60 years later. A New Mexico paper has already declared Barack Obama, the winner of the election. The "Sun News" only comes out twice a month so the editors went out on a limb hoping that they are right on the 4th of November.
In west Hollywood one man's Halloween prank has angered both his neighbors and McCain-Palin supporters on the likeness of Sarah Palin hanging from the house by a noose. Local residents reported it to police as hate crime. Police say there is nothing they can do about it. But they are watching the house to make sure that nothing gets out of hand.
But thousands of people purged from voter lists in the state of Georgia will be able to vote, one week from today. A federal court cleared 4500 voters after the state's new voters verification system questioned their citizenship. It flagged another 50,000 voters because of computer mismatches in their personal ID information. It's not clear whether that will be corrected by election day. And for more up-to-the minute political news, just head to cnn.com/ticker anytime, night or day. 35 and a half minutes now after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Battleground Ohio.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The question is always for them, it's about the abortion issues. Am I forbidden to vote for so-and-so.
ROBERTS: Courting Catholics, a crucial group that is still undecided and how their vote could ultimately swing a critical state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoever candidate wins the majority of the Catholic vote is very likely to carry Ohio.
ROBERTS: You're watching "the most news in the morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 38 minutes after the hour. She's Paris Hilton and she totally approved this message. The blondest presidential candidate in history has a new campaign advertisement out. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Paris for president.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Make sure you look hard on your ballot to find her name.
As for the Supreme Court and a possible Hilton administration, Paris said if she would appoint Simon Cowell. Well, we got a lot of interesting opinions at least.
It all could it come down to the Catholic vote in seven days. The critical voting block is still largely divided and undecided especially in the keys state of Ohio. Right now, Barack Obama leads by four points there in the latest CNN poll of polls. Just as many voters are just undecided. Take a look at that.
Battleground reporter Mary Snow joins us now live from Youngstown, Ohio. Mary, could Catholics turn the tide there?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, some people think yes they can. They are known to be swing voters. And John, it's estimated that one in four voters here in Ohio are Catholic. Here in Youngstown where we are, that number is even higher. There is an intense battle for their vote.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): At St. Luke Catholic Church they are united in faith.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May the peace of Christ be with you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And also with you.
SNOW: Divided on politics. Some still deciding how they will vote.
TED RUSSELL, OHIO CATHOLIC VOTER: I am probably on defense but leaning towards McCain.
MARY ANN DULAY, OHIO CATHOLIC VOTER: I'm a registered republican but I haven't voted straight republican. And I don't know that I'll vote republican this time either.
SNOW: For voters like Mary Ann Dulay, Youngstown's struggling economy has been an issue ever since the local steel industry died decades ago. Her Catholic faith also plays the role. She takes seriously the church's staunch opposition to abortion which is grappling on candidates' stance on other teachings such as the church's anti-war stance and fighting poverty. Father Joe (inaudible) says he's gotten more calls than in the last 20 years from parishioners conflicted about who to vote for.
FR. JOE (inaudible): The question is always for them almost about the abortion issue. You know, and I forbid them to vote for so and so. Do I have to vote for so and so.
SNOW: While churches can't endorse candidates, Ohio Catholic groups are traditionally supported broadcast of anti-abortion ads like this one. Some Catholic groups take a broader view, aggressively focusing on issues beyond abortion such as this cable ad showing a priest addressing racism which has seemed a factor in Ohio.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let us make sure that we vote for our candidates on the basis of their policies and not for their race.
SNOW: Professor John Green who studied religion and politics says there's an intense under the radar campaign through mail and phone calls to court Catholics.
PROF. JOHN GREEN, UNIVERSITY OF AKRON: The republicans have been emphasizing life issues, questions like abortion and stem cell research. The Democratic mail and contact has stressed social welfare issue, immigration, the need to the end war in Iraq.
SNOW: Because Catholics are torn, Green says it is an not unusual for them to be undecided until the end and it's that swing vote that's critical.
GREEN: And whichever candidate wins the majority of the white Catholic vote is very likely to carry Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Now the latest poll from the Pew Research Center finds among white Catholics not including Hispanic, nationwide Barack Obama is leading John McCain among this group by eight points, 49 to 41 percent. But, John, still close to call here in Ohio. John.
ROBERTS: It's still seven days left to go. You know, we always got to leave that possibility out that a lot can change in the next few days. Mary Snow for us this morning in Youngstown. Mary, thanks so much for that.
The best political team on television is spanned out across the country right now covering all the key battleground states from here until election day. Keep it right here on CNN for all of the latest developments on the most politics in the morning.
CHETRY: And joining me right now is Christine Romans. She's "Minding your Business" this morning. Some good news today.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Some good news. Stocks have pointed higher but you know, are you losing sleep over money, tossing and turning because of the economy? Some surprising results of the new survey. It's 42 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. You know, Christine and I talked about losing sleep a lot not because of the economy but because we both have six-month-old baby boys born on the same day, mind you. Could you believe that. But other people are losing sleep over the money woes.
ROMANS: That's right. This might be why our children are not sleeping. Maybe they are worried about money.
CHETRY: Maybe they are looking at their 529.
ROMANS: Exactly. Well, the economy is keeping people awake. There's no doubt about this. A recent survey by a firm that helped companies with wellness issues and human resources found that nine out of 10 employees said they have lost sleep over money, over this money crisis, over what's happening right now in the economy. Of those who said they lost sleep. This is how it broke down. Cost of living was the number one concern of those people who were losing sleep over the economy. Credit card debt, mortgage payments, retirement accounts. You go down the line, there are even more. People were concerned about paying for college, people are concerned about putting money away for their retirement. A lot of concerns here. Only eight percent of people surveyed said no, no, I'm sleeping fine through the night. I'm not worried about money at all.
So that tells you what's happening here in this economy and how it's affecting people. It really is. Talking about their neighbors are losing their jobs. They are worried about the foreclosure crisis. So even people - this is a survey of people with jobs, many of them with insurance benefits as well are people who are still concerned.
Now, a grim anniversary as well. Today is October 28th. It's the beginning of the October 28th-29th crash of 1929. That was 79 years ago. October is always that ugly, ugly month. That is that big horror show that we've always talk about in terms of history. John is laughing.
ROBERTS: The angel of death.
ROMANS: But stocks are looking up today. So there's a fine way to celebrate this anniversary.
ROBERTS: Properly dressed in black.
CHETRY: Isn't it also strange that didn't the Dow or the S&P hit it's all time high in October of last year?
ROMANS: I think yes, you're absolutely right.
CHETRY: So last year was a happy October.
ROMANS: You're right. And this year has been a horrific October. But stocks are pointing higher here today. One of the best explanations I read was that it can't go down forever. I mean, there are people who are thinking they can't go down forever.
CHETRY: That's a bright spot.
ROMANS: We're going to have October behind us, and an election behind us and all of these measures are starting to -
ROBERTS: Did you see the movie "Airplane"?
ROMANS: The one from the '70s?
ROBERTS: Remember he was telling people their story and they were like hanging themselves and jumping out of airplanes and things. That's how I feel.
CHETRY: John is one of the people losing sleep.
ROMANS: John is one of the eight percent of Americans not losing sleep, right?
ROBERTS: Just ignoring the whole thing until it gets better.
ROMANS: That's a good way to be. I'll be back here in the next hour and you can't ignore me.
CHETRY: And I'm listening to Steve Forbes because it's all going to turn around by next spring. No more worries.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Banned by Obama.
BARBARA WEST, KJTV ANCHOR: How is Senator Obama not being a Marxist?
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are you joking?
ROBERTS: The local anchor woman whose interview with Joe Biden became an internet sensation, talks to us live about her questions and the campaigns response.
WEST: I think it was actually a silly reaction on their part. I think it was an overreaction.
ROBERTS: You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Ten minutes to the top of the hour. Welcome back to "the most news in the morning." There is an old saying an "ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." On the campaign trail prevention seems to be worth a lot more than that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to focus on prevention, on promoting wellness rather than just managing sickness. Today we spend less than four cents of every health care dollar on prevention and public health.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to create a next generation of chronic disease prevention, early intervention, new treatment models and public health infrastructure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: But how important is prevention really? We're paging our Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's CNN's chief medical correspondent. He is in Atlanta this morning just back from his own preventive week on the fine Riviera Beaches. So, how important is this, you know, in the overall scheme of things? A lot of people wait until they get sick to get treated. How important is it to sort of try to keep yourself well so you don't get sick?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, medically it makes a lot of sense. And this is something where both candidates do agree, certainly on adopting more preventive strategies. First the problem we do spend a lot of our money on taking care of people after they are already sick. And about 130 million people do have chronic disease in this country. So there's a lot of people who are quite sick.
The question is how much are we spending? About 75 percent of health care spending goes towards disease management as opposed to wellness sort of maintenance, wellness and maintenance type programs. That's a little bit of a cost. In terms of the benefits, this has been something that's a little harder to quantify. But again, it sort of makes sense if you keep people from getting sick in the first place. You know, medically it's the right thing to do. And also they live a much better life.
Take a look at some of the most effective early strategies. Some of them are going to make a lot of sense. Obviously, quitting smoking, you can say adds ten years. Most people agree on that. Healthy blood pressure. That might mean getting blood pressure checks regularly. It could add five years to your life. Lower cholesterol three to eight years. And simply keeping an healthier weight could add three to four years as well. So John, using this model, sort of trying to change the model overall from a disease management system to a prevention system is going to require some work. But you do hear that both of these candidates really sort of taking on to that.
ROBERTS: So what are the programs that they are talking about here in terms of disease prevention and how big a push is there on for that?
GUPTA: Well, you know, when it comes to, I mean, you just heard Senator Obama talk about a radical change towards prevention. Some of the systems might be smaller in terms of getting nurses to go into homes, for example, to monitor blood pressures, do blood glucose checks for diabetics. Things like that that simply don't get done. A lot of health care insurance companies won't reimburse doctors unless there's some sort of visit at the doctor's office. So getting home visits for example might become more common.
But keep in mind, John, that a couple of things are going to happen. One, is there is going to be a lot of upfront costs. So it's going to cost money to go to a prevention model to do more screenings, for example. And also there is the potential risk of what is known as over diagnosis. You do have a large chunk of the population that is healthy. They may start to get over diagnosed and as a result they may have anxiety. They may have more increased costs with biopsies and things like that. So that's going to be a period of transition as well. so going to the prevention model won't be easy. But again, both candidates are saying it needs to happen.
ROBERTS: Well, certainly nothing will be easy when it comes to reforming the health care industry system. Sanjay Gupta for us this morning.
GUPTA: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: Sanjay, thanks so much for that. 53 1/2 minutes after the hour now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): The anchor who angered Joe Biden on the air?
BIDEN: Are you joking? Is that a real question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a question.
I was respectful.
CHETRY: Banned by the Obama campaign and live on AMERICAN MORNING.
Plus, why the Palin wardrobe issue won't go away.
ELIZABETH HASSELBECK, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Focused, fixated on her wardrobe.
CHETRY: Pantsuits, hair, is this fair?
You're watching the most news in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA WEST, WFTV ANCHOR: How is Senator Obama not being a Marxist if he intends to spread the wealth around?
BIDEN: Are you joking? Is this a joke?
WEST: No.
BIDEN: Or is that a real question? WEST: That's a question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That's a Florida anchor, EFTV anchor Barbara West talking to vice presidential candidate Joe Biden. This interview has really become an internet sensation, sparked a lot of controversy, as well.
According to the "Orlando Sentinel," the campaign actually called West's line of questioning absurd, then pulled Jill Biden, who is Joe Biden's wife scheduled interview and also informed the station that no one else from the campaign would be granting the station any further interviews.
Barbara West joins me now from her station in Orlando.
Good morning, and thanks for being with us.
BARBARA WEST, WFTV-TV ANCHOR/REPORTER: Good morning, Kiran. It's nice to be here.
CHETRY: Now, critics are saying that you had an agenda. That some of the questions you were asking Joe Biden were biased and out of line.
Did you have an agenda when you were talking to him?
WEST: No. My only agenda was to get some serious answers to some serious questions that people in our viewing area want to know the answers to.
CHETRY: What's been the reaction from your station from the management as to what's happened since? And, also the reaction from the Obama campaign saying, they're not granting your station anymore interviews?
WEST: Well, you know, first of all, the station has been very supportive. I'm doing the job that I was hired to do that, in fact, all of our reporters and news anchors are hired to do.
We are a hard news, breaking news station. We are expected to challenge people and to dig for information and to be investigative and to break new ground in news. That is what we do, that is what we are all about. And that is why we are definitely the dominant news station here in central Florida.
As far as how the campaign reacted to this, I mean, I just think it's silly. I'm going to take my ball and go play some place else. I mean, if they want to do that, that's up to them.
CHETRY: All right. Well, let's listen, Barbara, to a little bit more of some of the questions that you asked Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WEST: Aren't you embarrassed by the blatant attempts to register phony voters? Isn't Senator Obama's comment a potentially crushing political blunder? Are you forewarning Americans that nothing will be done and that America's days as a world's leading power are over?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Now, when you were talking to him, some of the words that you used like embarrassing, blatant, phony. Did you mean to come off as combative as some say you did with Joe Biden?
WEST: Well, let's look at my question about the ACORN voter registration. We had done a week's worth of stories on phone voter registrations, including registering Mickey Mouse, right here in central Florida. That's phony. What other word would you like to use about that?
As far as saying, could this be a potentially fatal blow. You know, in fact, that was a question that Newt Gingrich was also asking hypothetically. But I wanted to ask Joe Biden, did he feel that this was really something that could sabotage their campaign by having talked about spreading the wealth.
CHETRY: Now, I want to ask about your McCain interview. You did interview John McCain. I saw some of it. You asked him about whether Democrats were painting him in a box. You asked why he hadn't gone after Obama on ACORN. It sounded at times like you were perhaps giving him some strategic advice.
Do you think that you were softer on John McCain?
WEST: I don't think you saw my most recent interview with John McCain, which was just yesterday. And do remember, please, that when I interviewed John McCain, these other issues had not yet cropped up. Finding the voter registration fraud as extensive as it was here in central Florida, had not yet happened --
CHETRY: I got you. Now, listen -- and Barbara, no, we did also have McCain. You did challenge him on reports of infighting between McCain's camp and Palin's camp.
And let's listen to a little clip of that right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WEST: How can you convince the American public that you are ready to lead when the thing you're in charge of, your campaign, appears to be lacking the same fine-tuned coordination as Senator Obama's.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know what frankly what you're talking about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Do you think that the national media has been too soft on the candidates in this presidential process?
WEST: I think the national media needs to be more probing and needs to ask them some pretty direct questions.
You know, tomorrow night we're going to get a half hour of Senator Obama pitching himself to the American public. But no media is going to be able to be asking him any questions during that half hour at all.
CHETRY: Now, do you think too much has been made over the fact that your husband did some strategy work for the GOP during 1992, and during some of the other campaigns? He also donated to Republicans since 2000.
WEST: Well, there is absolutely nothing wrong or unethical in donating to the party of your choice. My husband made his own donations. I was not involved with those donations. He let me know that he was making donations, but he made it very clear to the people that he donated to, or the organizations to that he donated to that I had nothing to do with that and he wanted them to be perfectly clear on that.
As far as his affiliation with the Republican Party and doing consulting for Republicans, that was during the Clinton administration. And I'd also like people to know that he also worked for Senator Paul Wellstone, in doing some shaping of the media presentation of the sex slave trade and combating that.
And also, the Clinton administration state department hired him to go over to Europe, and to South America, to work with local officials who were perceived as friends to the United States. To help them shape the media message in the war against drugs. So, he actually has worked for both sides. Republicans, as well as Democrats.
CHETRY: All right. Barbara West. Probably one of the most watched Joe Biden interviews on the internet right now.
Thanks for joining us this morning and talking to us about it.
WEST: A pleasure. Thank you very much.
